FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT ANTIFREEZE - PAGE 3

The two west suburban teenagers who have admitted suicide attempts by drinking antifreeze are all too typical, experts say. Though they survived, they fit the profile of teens who don't: They are male, and they choose a violent means such as guns, poison or explosives. And like most teenagers who try to kill themselves, the two were probably already feeling depressed and overwhelmed when a way out--a sickly sweet and potentially lethal chemical that had left another teenager dead--presented itself.

The dangers of winter weather on your pet's health are numerous. Dr. Robert Dann from Blum Animal Hospital and Sarah Ahlberg from PAWS Chicago share ways to keep animals warm and safe: •Don't let pets outside for too long. If you do, make sure they wear coats or sweaters, particularly smaller dogs and dogs with smooth coats. •In really cold weather, cats will climb under the hoods of cars to sleep on the warm engine. Make sure to knock on the hood or honk to get their attention before driving off. Cats can be injured by moving fan belts.

ASF Corp. said it agreed to acquire Conoco Inc.'s Zerex antifreeze-coolant business for an undisclosed price. BASF, a subsidiary of BASF AG of West Germany, already is the largest supplier of private-brand antifreeze in the United States and sells to more than 80 percent of the nation's private-brand customers.

Are you confused by coolant colors? You are not alone. Almost all of the antifreeze/coolant sold is made from about 95 percent ethylene glycol. So why do they vary so much in color? Different additive packages. The color comes from dye added to the clear base stock, because all ethylene glycol is colorless. The additive packages are different colors to keep people from adding the wrong kind. In general, the antifreeze traditionally has been green in American cars, at least until recently, when General Motors starting using the orange Dex-Cool as the factory fill.

Q. With winter approaching, I would like to know when permanent antifreeze should be changed. Is replacement based on mileage or age? M.L., Wilmette A. Antifreeze is "permanent" only in the sense that it can remain in the cooling system all year. In the old days, antifreeze had to be drained in the spring and installed in the fall. Antifreeze, which is now called coolant, should be changed based on time, not mileage. Consult your owner's manual, but we also suggest a bit more aggressive interval.

A Caterpillar backhoe was discovered vandalized May 11 on an access road to a wireless communications tower, reports said. Someone had removed the gas, oil and antifreeze caps and broken the windshield. The value of the damage was not known.

A Kane County coroner's inquest jury this week ruled that the death of an Aurora woman from antifreeze poisoning was a homicide. Tina Martindale, 30, died in Mercy Center on Jan. 28, four days after she was taken there with severe abdominal pains. An autopsy determined she died of intoxication from ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in antifreeze, according to county documents. Aurora police have yet to classify Martindale's death and continue to investigate. Police declined to elaborate.

There's one thing you'll find on the label of regular antifreeze that you won't find on the label of a new brand, Sierra. "WARNING: Harmful or fatal if swallowed or inhaled." Sierra, says Roy Linhardt, company vice president for sales, is the first nationally available antifreeze made from propylene glycol instead of ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is toxic, propylene glycol is "essentially nontoxic," Linhardt says. It is, he says, comparable to alcohol in the amount you would have to ingest before it causes serious problems.

An armed robber took about $100 and a container of antifreeze Saturday afternoon from Chris' Cheese Mart on the 200 block of Hill Avenue, police said. The man, wearing a Green Bay Packers cap, dark coat and dark sunglasses, entered the store, picked up a container of gasoline treatment and offered a dollar to pay for it. When the cashier opened the register, the man displayed a revolver and demanded money. The cashier gave him about $100 and the man fled. On his way out, he took a container of antifreeze, police said.